🇺🇸 Most Hispanic Americans support abortion access: AP-NORC poll

For decades, some political analysts have sought to depict Hispanic Americans as “socially conservative” — and indeed many of them are.

But a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that a solid majority of this diverse population — whether they’re Catholic, Protestant or religiously unaffiliated — believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

According to the poll, about 4 in 10 U.S. Hispanics identify as Catholic, about one-third as Protestant or “other Christian,” and about one-quarter as religiously unaffiliated. About half of the Protestants identified as evangelical or born-again, as did about 10% of the Catholics.

Around 6 in 10 Hispanic Protestants and about two-thirds of Hispanic Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. A similar share think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortions nationwide.

That’s similar to other major religious groups in the U.S. except for white evangelical Protestants; only about one-quarter of them say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Overall, a majority of U.S. Catholics from multiple demographics support abortion-rights, even though the Catholic hierarchy describes opposition to abortion as its preeminent priority.

🔗 https://apnews.com/article/hispanic-americans-election-2024-abortion-trump-harris-3fcad2d82d2e1a1d7e0e415720337124

⚓ Initial Reports that the USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198), the only Replenishment Oiler with the U.S. Navy currently Deployed to the Middle East, has “Run Aground” off the Coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea and suffered possible Serious Damage; with her currently being Towed to Dubai.

📝 John Konrad V: It’s not looking good. I’ve been told by a shipowner the Navy does not have a spare oiler to deploy and is scrambling to find a commercial oil tanker to refuel the Abraham Lincoln carrier group.

🔗 https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/usns-big-horn-grounding/70744

🇺🇸 US Navy Oiler Runs Aground, Forcing Carrier Strike Group to Scramble for Fuel

First reported on the gCaptain forum and by maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, a leaked video and photos show damage to the ship’s rudder post and water flooding into a mechanical space. US Navy vessels don’t typically transmit AIS signals, so we don’t know the exact location of the ship but a Navy source confirms she is anchored near Oman awaiting a full damage assessment.

Fortunately, no injuries or environmental damage have been reported for the ship. This is significant because the 33-year-old vessel is one of the single-hull versions of the Kaiser-class oilers.

“USNS Big Horn sustained damage while operating at sea in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations overnight on Sept. 23. All crew members are currently safe and U.S. 5th Fleet is assessing the situation,” according to a statement from a Navy official provided to Sam Lagrone at USNI News.

Kaiser-class oilers, named after Henry J. Kaiser, were introduced in the 1980s and have long been the backbone of the Navy’s underway replenishment (UNREP) capabilities. These vessels refuel carrier strike groups and other naval assets at sea—a crucial task ensuring the Navy’s global reach and operational readiness. However, as single-hull tankers, they’ve been considered environmentally vulnerable since, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1990 Oil Pollution Act (OPA 90) mandated double-hull designs for commercial oil tankers.

Compounding the problem is the fact that the Big Horn is the only oiler the Navy has in the Middle East. One shipowner told gCaptain that the Navy is scrambling to find a commercial oil tanker to take its place and deliver jet fuel to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

If the Navy resorts to using a commercial oil tanker as a temporary replacement, it would need to install a Consolidated Cargo Handling and Fueling (CONSOL) system for underway replenishment operations. This system includes specialized refueling rigs, tensioned fueling hoses, and high-capacity fuel pumps—all essential for safely transferring fuel to warships at sea. The tanker would also require robust communication and control systems to ensure precise coordination during refueling maneuvers.

This retrofitting process is no small feat. It requires significant modifications to the commercial vessel, enabling it to withstand the unique stresses and operational demands of pumping fuel while sailing at full speed. Moreover, a U.S. Merchant Marine crew trained in CONSOL UNREP procedures—a complex and high-risk operation—would need to be flown to the Middle East to supervise the operation. This adds another layer of complexity to an already challenging situation.

Commercial tankers are significantly slower than Navy oilers, which could leave the USS Abraham Lincoln more vulnerable to attack during aviation fuel loading operations.

🔗 https://gcaptain.com/us-navy-oiler-usns-big-horn-aground-forcing-carrier-strike-group-to-scramble-for-fuel/

🇮🇶❌🇮🇱 — Air Raid sirens and Explosions in southern Golan Heights near Nob and Avnei Eitan settlements caused by infiltration of drones belonging to the 'Islamic Resistance in Iraq'

🇮🇶❌🇮🇱 — Footage shared by netizens and local observers shows the impact the a suicide UAV launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq" which caused extensive damage in an israeli military base in the Wadi Araba desert, near Sapir village in the Dead Sea basin

➡️ Per locals, the video escaped military censorship imposed by the IDF as Arab-Israelis shared it online

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — Republican Candidate Donald Trump, via his iconic account on Twitter/X, says that the Islamic Republic of Iran is attempting on his life, with already "multiple attempts failed" and now "he is surrounded by more and more people with guns"

➡️ This comes days after the American Nationalist Candidate gave a speech, alongside Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi who lives in exile in the US, on "the need to remove Wilayat al-Faqih from the map" at the Israeli-American Council last week in Los Angeles, California

On the post on X, he says;

Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting.

Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again.
Not a good situation for anyone.

I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.

Thank you to Congress for unanimously approving far more money to Secret Service - Zero “NO” Votes, strictly bipartisan.
Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something. An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!

🔗 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — 📰 Fox News: Trump briefed on 'real and specific threats' from Iran to assassinate him, campaign says

➡️ Former President Trump was briefed Tuesday about "real and specific threats" from Iran to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate, according to his campaign.

➡️ Iran’s aim to assassinate Trump is part of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to "destabilize and sow chaos in the United States," Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a press release.

"Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference," Cheung said.

🔗 Link

🇸🇻 Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City:

"In El Salvador we prioritised the security of our honest citizens over the comfort of criminals some have said that we've put thousands in prison but the reality is that we have set millions free. The good people now walk freely, without fear and with full respect for their freedoms and human rights!".

🔗 Nayib Bukele

🇪🇬🤝🇸🇴 Egypt delivers more weapons to Somalia amid rising tensions with Ethiopia

An Egyptian warship has delivered a second major cache of weaponry to Somalia including anti-aircraft guns and artillery, officials said, in a move likely to stoke further friction between the two countries and Ethiopia.

“A shipment of Egyptian military aid has arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu to support and build the capabilities of the Somali army,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.


Egypt delivered its first round of military aid to Somalia in more than four decades in August.

Ties between Egypt and Somalia have grown this year over their shared mistrust of Ethiopia, prompting Cairo to send several planeloads of arms to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, after the countries signed a joint security pact in August.


Ethiopia angered Mogadishu by agreeing to a preliminary deal in January with the breakaway region of Somaliland to lease land for a port in exchange for possible recognition of its independence from Somalia.

Ethiopia also has at least 3,000 soldiers stationed in Somalia as part of a peacekeeping initiative called the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which is working to suppress an armed uprising, while an estimated 5,000-7,000 soldiers are deployed in other regions under a bilateral agreement.

Somalia has called the Somaliland deal an assault on its sovereignty and says it wants all Ethiopia’s soldiers to leave at the end of the year unless Addis Ababa scraps the agreement.

🔗 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/23/egypt-delivers-second-stockpile-of-weapons-to-somalia-amid-ethiopia-tension